Coveborn Mistakes
Chapter Thirty
SADIE
The woman who enters the chamber is smiling. She emerges from the water with grace, her bright, dandelion tail curling beneath her.
I sit up on my stone slab, my eyes narrowing. Her mousy, brown hair is braided behind her head and draped over her shoulder, the ends fluttering in the water.
“Good morning,” she greets me.
I draw in a breath and scoot farther away. My back hurts, and my eyes are burning. Daros brought me to the underground chamber I was initially imprisoned in, leaving me here overnight.
For once, air feels uncomfortable. More so than the water.
I’m trying hard not to think about why that is, but it’s impossible not to draw conclusions. I’m adjusting to life in the water. The damned webbing between my fingers proves it.
The woman offers another smile but doesn’t come any closer.
I pay her smile no mind.
“Where’s Kyros?” I ask.
Is he okay? Is he healing? Is he in pain?
Has he asked about me?
The woman blinks once, then lets out a tiny laugh. It’s the first warm sound I’ve heard from anyone in this pod, and I don’t know what to do with it. Did Seraya put her up to this? Daros? I haven’t seen Mavek since returning, but I wouldn’t put it past him.
“Kyros is with the council,” she says. Her voice is melodic, gentler than most of the others. “He ordered for you to be cared for until he returns.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “And then what?”
The woman hesitates. Just for a second.
“Then he’ll take you to the surface,” she says.
I lick my lips.
Those words don’t make me as happy as they once did. To the surface. I’ve wanted that since the moment Kyros pushed me overboard. I wanted air. Wanted sunlight. Wanted ground beneath my feet and a world that made sense again.
But now…
I shake my head, brushing those uncomfortable thoughts aside.
The woman’s smile softens. “My name is Evara.”
I blink. “Sadie.”
“I know.”
I suppose being the only human hybrid in an underwater Mer city will draw attention. I’m willing to bet every person here knows my name. Do they also know that Kyros has claimed me as his mate, whatever that means?
I’m not sure I want to know.
Evara glances around the room. “Come with me.”
“To where?”
Evara leads me through the underground tunnels and into Kyros’s estate.
I know the second we’re inside. The corridors are wider, the water more open. Pale sea flowers bloom from cracks in the walls, opening and closing slowly as we pass.
It’s pretty.
Annoyingly so.
Evera enters a dining room. There’s a low table carved from white stone in the center of the room, and on it are strips of fish, sea grapes, and a bowl of something pink and glistening.
On either side of the table are white cushions made from tightly woven, sun-bleached kelp.
Evara tilts her head, watching my face.
“The food is safe,” she promises.
I hum. “That’s exactly what someone serving poisoned fish would say.”
She laughs again. Softly.
I find myself staring at her. There’s no edge to her words, no hostility or wariness to be found. It’s not what I’m used to encountering down here, but I won’t let it lower my guard. Not until I hear from Kyros directly can I trust Evara.
She motions for me to sit. “You should eat. Kyros may be with the council for some time.”
I lower myself onto one of the cushions. It’s surprisingly comfortable. I didn’t realize that Mer had furniture. What else has been hidden from me?
“Are they deciding whether or not to murder me?” I ask.
Evera lifts a brow. “No.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
I study her face for any sign that she’s lying. I don’t find one.
Evara settles across from me, her pretty, yellow tail coiling neatly beneath her. Up close, I notice tiny, silver freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose. They make her look younger somehow.
Innocent.
She’s exactly whom Seraya and Daros would send. Let her lull me into a false sense of security, then kill me.
“You’re worried for him,” she says.
I should deny it. I don’t.
Evera’s expression stays maddeningly gentle. “He was badly injured.”
“I noticed.”
It’s my fault. I’m the one who dragged his back against the trench wall, letting the coral tear his skin to shreds. I feel horrible, but I also don’t. There was no other way.
Releasing him wasn’t an option.
Not with those things lurking about.
Evara hums. “Don’t worry. Mer heal quickly.”
“Half his back was ripped off.”
I reach for the food, my hunger winning out. I can’t remember the last time I ate. It was before we left for the trench, almost twenty-four hours ago. I’m starving.
Evara watches me bite into the fish. It’s salty but not bad.
She waits until I’ve swallowed before speaking. “Are you excited to leave?”
My stomach tightens.
I rip off another bite of fish. “Yes.”
Evara watches me. “Truly?”
“Of course.”
Her gaze drifts to my hands, where my fingers are gripping the fish hard enough to bend it. I loosen my grip, my face growing warm. I hate that she’s noticing my hesitation.
I should be thrilled. I should be counting the seconds until I’m out of here, back in the world where people don’t communicate in clicks and light up when they’re emotional.
I should be especially thrilled to return to a world where men don’t decide, without permission, to mark people as their mates.
But I’m not.
“The red bloom will be here soon,” I say.
Evara hums.
I clear my throat. “I will be gone before then.”
I think of Kyros in the cave, then press my legs together. I have no underwear now, the fabric torn open and discarded by Kyros. Has anybody noticed? Probably.
God Almighty.
I pick at a cluster of sea grapes. “What happens during the red bloom?”
Evara chews at her bottom lip. She doesn’t want to answer.
“Do women get horny, too?” I pry.
Evara shrugs. “Yes.”
I stare at the table, pretending the bowl of glistening pink whatever is fascinating. Will Kyros be with a woman during this year’s red bloom? The thought claws at my insides, but I don’t voice my insecurity. Not to this woman I hardly know, even if she seems nice.
Evara continues. “Bonded males react differently.”
My shoulders tense.
Evera tilts her head. “You truly don’t know?”
I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “Nobody tells me anything.”
She smacks her tongue against the back of her teeth.
By the currents.
I raise a brow. Cursing, are we?
“During the red bloom, males produce a marking fluid from their scent glands. It is…sacred.” She looks away, as if choosing her following words with care. “Once it has been shared, the male will only crave his chosen woman during the bloom. Kyros’s need for you will… Well, it will be intense.”
My mouth goes dry.
“For how long?”
Evara’s gaze returns to mine. “It does not expire.”
I sit very still, unable to move a single muscle. Kyros is a fucking idiot. He’s permanently altered his future for a woman he plans to send away, and for what? I don't know whether to be furious or horrified.
“Many women have offered to accept Kyros’s marking fluid.”
I shut my eyes. “Please stop calling it that.”
“My apologies.” Evara chuckles. “His sap, then. Kyros wouldn’t have given you his without good reason.”
“Sap is even worse.” I sink into my seat. “Why are you telling me this?” My words are slightly accusatory, but I don’t try very hard to disguise my suspicion. I’m yet to meet a Mer—man or woman—who wants me here, so I don’t understand why she’s trying to guilt me into staying.
I’m certain that’s what this is.
Evara shrugs, too nonchalant. “I want to be on friendly terms with the woman my brother has mated himself to.”
I press my lips together. Brother. “You’re Kyros’s sister?”
The longer I stare, the more the similarities become obvious. The bright eyes. The sharp cheekbones. The stubborn expression.
Evara’s eyes narrow into thin slits. “Has he not mentioned me?”
“No.”
“Hm.” Evara sucks her cheeks into her mouth. “Did you know that Kyros once got stuck in a coral chimney trying to impress Daros?”
I blink. Blink again. Then laugh.
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“Was he wearing the crown?”
“No.”
“Tragic.”
I open my mouth to pry for more details when the water around us shifts. It’s a subtle pull, one I wouldn’t have noticed a week ago, but I’m adjusting to life underwater.
Evara feels it too. She straightens up, her tail coiling as she looks around.
“What is it?” I ask.
She doesn’t immediately answer.
Voices rise from beyond the room. It’s not the usual drifting chatter of the pod. The voices are rougher. Louder, too.
The algae along the walls tremble, and Evara’s eyes grow wide.
“Stay behind me,” she orders.
My stomach drops. “What’s happening?”
Evara is already moving, pushing between me and the chamber opening just as three figures burst into the room. Everything about them is wrong.
They’re moving too fast, and their tails are darker than those of the Tideborn pod—muddled in muddy greens and bruised blues. Their bodies are broader at the shoulders, their movements less fluid and more brute force.
Coveborn.
I know it immediately.
One of them sees me and bares his teeth.
Evara clicks out something cutting, spreading her arms slightly as if that will somehow stop three hostile Mer from attacking.
It does not.
The first man slams into her hard enough to send her crashing into the stone wall. She cries out, clearly in pain. The sound jolts me into motion. I grab a stone bowl off the table and hurl it, aiming for the head of the nearest man.
My aim is atrocious. Shame.
I have excellent aim on land.
The bowl misses his head, clipping his shoulder instead before exploding into a cloud of pink sludge and broken white stone.
“Sadie. Go,” Evara orders. “Find Kyros.”
It’s too late.
One of the men lunges for me. I avoid his first grab and slam backward into the table, sending dried fish and sea grapes spinning uselessly into the water. Another Coveborn catches my wrist before I can bolt, yanking me so hard, my shoulder nearly tears.
I kick.
Twist.
Land an elbow somewhere soft.
It’s no use. The third man is on me a second later, one arm locking around my waist from behind. My thrashing does no good.
Evara slams into him, her nails going for his face. He backhands her with horrifying ease, sending her spinning sideways. She hits the wall, falling limp.
I sink my teeth into his arm.
He jerks back, then slams a hand over my mouth. I claw at it and twist hard enough to wrench my shoulder. I even drive my heel backward in a pathetic excuse for an underwater kick. Nothing works.
The room erupts around us. The Coveborn are saying something to each other—short bursts of language I can almost understand. I catch only fragments.
Hybrid.
Take her—
Hurry.
No. No, no—
I go wild. There’s no grace, just blind, furious movement. I fight like hell against the arms pinning me, wrenching and ripping. The man behind me wraps his arms tighter around me, and everything goes sideways.
Literally.
We burst from the room in a violent rush. The corridor blurs, and Evara’s pale form flashes in my peripheral vision. She’s bent over and gasping against the wall, a trail of blood seeping from her mouth.
I reach for her.
The Coveborn drag me away.
“Kyros!” My scream is muffled by the hand over my mouth. The name comes out mangled and half-choked, but I force it again. Louder this time. “Kyros!”
The Coveborn holding me swears before tearing down the corridor with renewed speed. Something crashes behind us with a loud, ugly crack, and voices rise. Shouting. Screaming, maybe. I can’t tell.
The Coveborn dive downward through a narrow break in the wall, hauling me with them into open water. Then they’re darting away from the pod with startling speed. I twist once more, catching one last glimpse of Tideborn.
Beautiful, spiraling towers and vibrant, colorful Mer.
One of the Coveborn makes a hard turn, and the city disappears behind stone.